New Years Ahead
by Basched
Summary: River is triggered again and sets into motion some new trouble for her, Jayne and Serenity's crew. Sequel to my fic The Broken Christmas. Rated M for smut. Prequel to the LITTLE STAR series.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: Sequel to my story The Broken Christmas. You may have to read that before this one, for it takes place about a week before events written here. Smut straight off. I don't know how many parts it will be...probably another two or one, not sure. Anyways, this and BC are now going to be a part of my up coming series "Little Star"_

_A big word up and major high fiveages to the BigbadJayne who betaed this for me. Dude you are way awesome! _

_Any mistakes are mine not his, so don't go niggling to him, dong ma? _

_Disclaimers: Firefly and characters all belong to Joss. Except Finn, he's mine. _

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**New Years Ahead**

"Oh shit, girl! Ah…fuckin' shit! Ya killin' me!"

Every jolt the writhing River bore into him incited a thunderous burning spasm. The pleasure surged through them both like waves of liquid fire and whilst he relished in it, shaking and bellowing against her with all his might, Jayne knew that she felt it more.

Normally she controlled them telepathic tricks of hers, kept out of others minds, but with him…she could not. The Moonbrain went beyond what was deemed "normal" for her when she had ambushed him last week on Christmas day. She had coerced him into having sex with her and that once…seven—eight—all right, nine!—times after wards had convinced the merc plenty that it was a damned good thing. It was the best he had ever had, and he suspected even now, as her nails raked new bloodied lines across his back and her teeth gouged into his shoulder, that she was experiencing everything he was.

Jayne managed to open his eyes and peer through the stinging sweat flowing off his forehead. God, she was crazy, beyond wild and so damned vicious. River was bucking with unbelievable strength, she was so gorram hot and feral and he couldn't help himself. With one hand he forcefully grabbed the cheeks of her face, pulled her down for a kiss and plunged his tongue inside her mouth. She moaned wantonly before sucking and biting at the hungry and welcome intrusion. Jayne rumbled a laugh, how had he been so yellow about kissing her? It was ruttin' glorious.

His arms wrapped around her back and clenched his hands on her shoulders, pulling her harder into him. River cried out into his mouth and crushed his thighs with a fierce clench of her knees. Jayne felt like he was going to break from the force of her fury as well as explode; his head fell back, breaking apart the kiss and his skull smacked against the wall behind him.

"_Ma de __MA DE!"_

She wouldn't let go or let up. River buffeted her sweaty little body against him again and again, rocking and grinding to force him deeper, though it just wasn't possible, no matter how much her shrieking and commanding vocalizing tried to order it. Jayne felt her clawed hands grasp the curls of his hair and his face was thrust against her tiny chest.

Those sweet little breasts of hers may well be small, but gorram they were so great in his mouth. He took one whole, sucking just as hungrily as she had done with his tongue, and when the pace of her pounding quickened, when she clenched her muscles tightly around his buried cock, Jayne reacted by biting sharply down on the hardened, pebbled nipple. The resulting scream River released was so arousing in his ears, it made him shake. It brought him to brink of eruption, but her ferocious riding suddenly halted and brought an end to his impending orgasm. Unable to have experienced his release, irritated Cobb greatly.

River would have fallen off of him and there was a brief thought in Jayne's head to pushing her off anyway—"Just for a laugh, mind."-but he wrapped on arm around her back instead, to keep her steady. Jayne had to catch his breath with the break, he breathed against her hot marked flesh, his lips brushing against her breasts as he exhaled, but the pang of irritation was still there. He didn't like her not moving on top of him, he didn't want to stop feeling her, so warm and wet, around him and the tremors of her clenching, not when he was this close.

Jayne nuzzled his chin and mouth over her chest, nipping and grazing his beard over sweat beaded skin, up over her neck and shoulders to elicit a response from her. River just giggled.

"What's s'funny?" he asked, nudging his hips up into her. "I gone knackered ya out already?"

As expected, she didn't answer verbally to his questions, but she replied instead with an almighty squeeze of her thighs. Jayne moaned as such tight tension constricting on his _yinjing_ felt as if he was at last going to orgasm, but he yelled loudly in irritation when she relaxed and prevented him from doing so.

She was getting far too good at this, her laughter at his blissful torture was so damned smug that if she had been anyone else he would have socked her one. But then again with that beautiful, horny sexed look upon her face…River probably wouldn't have minded.

"I know what ya tryin' t'do Moony!" he smirked back, rubbing River's bottom with his hand and smacking it hard. She giggled again, delighting at the burning smart on her skin. "There ain't no way you're finishing after me, crazy. No gorram way."

River growled, leaned back and out of the blue, cracked her fist against his shoulder blade in protest. It made him wince at the pain—girl could hit and he loved her for it-but he wasn't going to give in.

It was only a week since this bizarre relationship had begun and from that get-go, River had been the dominant, or rather she dictated how things progressed. Jayne had accepted it—after a few shouting matches—mainly because it turned him on. He loved to argue with her now, they thrived on their conflicts for it always ended up with sexing and yes…some close intimacy after wards that he never expected to experience with anyone, let alone with the crazy girl. He wasn't going to admit it, but they was more than just fuck buddies now.

It was what Inara had said. Love, but in a way no one else was really likely to understand.

As much as he loved River—shit yeah he did-and her dominance over him, he was still Jayne. He still liked control and she wasn't going to have her way, this time.

"Beat on me all ya like" he snarled in her ear, biting sharply on the lobe. "There ain't no gorram chance in this 'Verse that I'm gonna go 'fore you. So…quit with ya damned teasin' woman and come already!"

River smirked and responded back to his demands with an unexpected—but not entirely unwelcome—crack to his jaw. His teeth bit harshly on his tongue and his mouth filled with blood. Returning her smirk in a gesture of thanks, he spat some of the blood out on to the floor and curled his fist in the drenched locks of her hair. He pulled her head sharply back, exposing her neck, where he smeared his mouth and blood across her throat. It excited her, he could feel it in the tremble of her body and in the tightening of her around him…he heard it in the sweet gasp that fell from her open mouth.

"I'm in charge now, Moony. I say yer gonna come…yer gonna."

River laughed, thinking his "order" preposterous, but when she attempted to gain dominance over him again, he began to pummel her with quick successive jerks of his groin. River screamed, though the high pitched wail was quickly reduced to stuttering moans at such speed and force. She flopped forward, her head rolling from side to side on his shoulder as her limp arms draped helplessly down his back.

River never said anything during their sexing. She was vocal enough, and now she was whining atop of him letting his expletives and exclamations pant from his mouth and voice for her everything she wanted to express.

Jayne slid his free hand between them, still managing to keep up the hefty pace with his thrusts, and coiled a finger round in a length of her dark black pubic hair. _"Girl might wanna shave down there…I don't wanna choke."_ He tugged hard, ripping some coarse strands out, and pressed his thumb through her lips and down against the swollen sensitive nub of her clit. She liked it fast and hard, anything else on her throbbing nuft was nothing, so Jayne rubbed with the same speed and force his cock was jolting up inside of her. Her excited whines pitched into uncontrollable pleading mews, River thrashed back at him, demanding more even though he could feel her wetness streaming over his hand and legs.

He couldn't keep it up much longer, Jayne was beginning to not only tire but the pressure within was going to burst.

"Not now! Fuck! Not now!" he roared, the stinging blindness behind his eyes telling him he was about to come and do it hard.

River began bucking again, grinding fiercely against him and his hand, thrashing her head from the surges of throbbing intensifying pleasure. Her breaths became more broken and forced as she was nearing her peak. River held onto Jayne, whining louder demanding cries as they crashed violently together and Jayne encouraged her more. He continued ruthlessly pinching her, pulling the bundle of nerves of her clit and twisting it, provoking tears to stream down her face.

The bed beneath them was cracking under the strain, the sweat was running off them both like waterfalls and eventually everything broke.

There was a crack, the couple cried out as they tumbled off the bed and over the edge of their orgasm together, hitting the floor with a roll. Jayne felt a sharp jolt to his back and head, but he didn't care. The pain was nothing as he wrapped his arms and legs around the little gasping woman on top of him and as he felt himself empty within her.

She was twitching, her tiny panting frame hadn't recovered yet—neither had he—but Jayne kept her close, his hands stroking through the sweat on her back and his mouth kissing her neck. He had to smile, the feeling he was experiencing was beyond amazing, having River come at the same time…sharing….his smile broadened to a grin.

She must be so tired. To have experienced two orgasms at the same time, his emotions and feelings as well as her own. Jayne ran his fingers through her hair and squeezed her softly with his other arm.

"S'alright _bao bei_. S'alright." He kissed her softly. "Go t'sleep."

Jayne expected her to curl up, to snuggle on top of him. River must be exhausted-they both were-but now she should be running her feet over his legs, her fingers should be playing with the hair on his chest and he should be hearing her sated contented humming. Normally, she would be finding her voice about now. River would ask questions, how it was, was he okay? Did she please him and do things right?

River may be dominant in the act, but it was after wards when she became tentative and quiet, almost shy. She needed the intimacy and well so did he. Jayne wasn't going to admit that to her…not yet anyways. Well, besides…she was bound to know.

All of those things that Jayne was expecting, wasn't happening. River wasn't settling. She was still, eerily still upon him and he could tell something wasn't right.

"Hey! Crazy brain! What'cha doin'?"

There was no reply. Concerned, Jayne sat up, the motion making him at last slip from inside her. One hand grabbed her face again and he grinned as it flopped back down on his shoulder when he let go.

"Y'wanna go again?" Jayne kissed her neck and brushed his fingers through her hair. "You ain't got no strength gal…I sure as hell don't!"

"It won't be ours."

"Huh?"

Jayne pulled River's head back off his shoulder and he didn't like what stared back at him. She was crying, sad tears trickled down her cheeks, her body was shaking and not due to the aftermath of the shared orgasm. She was scared and upset and now, she was struggling to get up off of Jayne, but he wasn't going to let her.

"Riv? What the hell ya talkin' about?"

"It won't be ours!" River shrieked, tearing her gaze away from him and looking in horror down at her body. Her shaking hands tore at the ends of her hair and then clasped over her breasts before sliding down her over stomach and resting on her abdomen. "The sun will take it away! It is not ours! It can never be ours!"

"Make sense will ya?" Jayne grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. River tried to pry her face from his fingers, her own clawed into his arms and scratched at him to make him release her. He snarled as three nail marks across his face made Jayne let go, but the sheer terror that was driving her wasn't enough to stop him from battling with her on the floor. "Girl! _Chuo-zi! _What's gonna be taken?"

He never got the chance to find out. Another change overcame the young woman and this time it did more than unsettle Jayne. It actually scared him. All the terror and anguish vanished from River's face and her body became rigid as she stopped resisting him.

She sat straddled across his lap, gazing down with darkened soulless eyes and as Jayne felt all the warmth he'd helped create leave her body, he slid out from underneath River and rose to his knees. Gently, his rested his hands on either side of her face and tried to find something of his Moonbrain within that blank stare.

"Riv…River…?" She wasn't in there. He couldn't find anything of her.

"It won't be yours. It will never be yours." River spoke with a chilling and eerie tone, her head slightly cocked to one side. "Thank you for participating and contributing, but you are no longer needed. Expected outcome has been achieved and now the next stage must be adhered to."

Jayne certainly didn't expect the sharp crack to his skull. It was so hard that he fell back, falling flat and seeing nothing but a blur that went along with the ringing pain in his head. He blinked and felt a wetness dripping into his eyes, making him see red.

"CRAZY!" The pain of her head butt was making it difficult to move or think, or even see, but he heard the sound of rustling. The door opened with a swoosh and it was followed by an almighty crash as it flew off its runners.

_The Captain is gonna be pissed._ Mal's upset over a broken door weren't exactly his main concern right now—but Jayne knew that he would be bitching about it later.

Jayne didn't waste any time. He wiped the blood from his eyes and thankfully part of his vision quickly returned. He saw the wrecked room and the problem River had left him with. It had been her idea to come back here and there wasn't a reason to object, even if the others did, but now he wasn't left with any great options.

Getting to his feet and ignoring the blurred vision and spinning dizziness, Jayne grabbed the closest thing he could and realized that it wasn't going to fit. He screwed it up in his hands and with one, used it to cover his parts. He stumbled out of the room, jarred his shoulder against the wall then ran down the corridor, yelling.

"River!"

"Jayne! What did I tell ya about keeping your disturbing sexual antics with River contained to your rooms and…._di yu! Wang ba dan_!" Mal jumped back out of Jayne's way, nearly falling through the door to the infirmary. He grabbed hold of the door frame with one hand whilst he covered his eyes with the other. "And what did I say about you having clothes on when roaming my ship?"

"Gorramit, Mal! River's acting weird!" Jayne groaned and wiped at the blood still dripping from his head. "She butted my head and ran off spouting crazy talk! Not her usual _go se_ but freaky shit!"

"This from a man running buck nekkid on my boat! What the hell-Jayne? And are you bleeding…again? What screwed up things do you two do to each other?"

"Dammit Mal, she's taken my clothes! Outta my way!"

"I'm not-!"

Jayne grunted and ambled past Mal, keeping River's screwed up dress covering his modesty as he progressed to the cargo bay. It was in the doorway that he was blocked once again. He weren't quite sure who it was…he strained his eyes to look, but he couldn't see anyone.

"Aw shit." Jayne looked down. Finn was gawping up at him in surprise. "Move it, squirt."

Finn Washburne didn't move.

"I said GIT!"

"Jayne don't you dare speak to my son like-whoa!"

Zoe immediately covered her son's eyes and pulled him to the side.

"Ma, why is Unca' Jayne all beat up?" Finn's voice shouted rather loudly, but Jayne eventually saw that when Zoe hugged him tightly to her, shielding his vision of the merc, he was wearing ear defenders.

He wasn't going to ask about it, but he had a good idea as to why the youngest member of Serenity's crew was wearing them. Jayne, in any other circumstances, would have made an issue out of it, but he had a much more pressing issue than trying to explain things to him and his ma. He had to find River.

Jayne pushed past them and ran into the bay. She had to be here, its where River came when she went like this. She would hide in a number of places in the bay and settle until she returned to normal…so she had to be here.

"River? Gorramit girl! Answer me, _ma-shong_! I know yer here! Moony?"

He frantically stormed over to the secret hiding place beneath the stairs. With one hand he pulled off the grating and tried to see through the darkness, but he couldn't make anyone out. When a high pitched squealing sound came from behind him, he jerked and banged his head on the ceiling.

Jayne sank down onto his bottom and kept the pink material over his lap. He was sure he now had a concussion after the number of impacts his head had received. He heard lots of angry voices—Simon's being the loudest- and he also heard Mal ordering someone else to take a look at him.

"You're scaring my son."

Jayne snapped out of his dizzying daze and after rubbing his eyes, he saw it was not Simon but Zoe who knelt down next to him. She threw over his lap a blanket and a few moments later, she began to tend to his head injury, as well as the other bloody cuts and injuries which River had inflicted upon him. Jayne tried to peer round her.

He could see that Inara was sheltering Finn, and the boy looked anything but scared. In fact he was more puzzled as to why the ship's public relations officer and his adopted uncle was naked. The large mufflers covering his ears were honing out the raised voices, but the boy's inquisitive and nosey nature he inherited from his late father wasn't stopping him from peeking behind the folds in Inara's dress and gawping.

Jayne, caring nothing for the tyke and his creepy staring, rose to his feet, pushing back Zoe before she could finish treating a bite mark on his shoulder. There was a startled jump from everyone as the blanket nearly dropped from around his hips but they edged away when the pink crumpled remains of River's dress fell to the metal floor. Jayne vaguely heard Simon's protests, the doc demanding some sort of explanation from the Captain, but again he cared not and Jayne stormed past them all and continued to search the bay.

"_RIVER!_" His voice bellowed and resonated throughout Serenity, though there was no reply.

"What's wrong with River?" Simon momentarily forgot about Jayne, his state of undress and how battered he looked. "Where is she?"

"_I dunno! _I'm lookin' for her ain't I?" Spit hissed through Jayne's snarling teeth, spit that Simon had to wipe off of his face with the cuff of his sleeve.

"You're in no condition to be doing anything," Simon responded, restraining the urge to yell back at him. Simon glared menacingly up and down at the state of the older man's skin and a shiver ran down his spine at the sight of what his—sweet innocent—_mei-mei_ had done to Jayne. "You need to remain seated or you'll likely pass out."

"I told him that, but he ain't gonna hear us, doc." Zoe interjected.

Jayne looked as if he was about to argue. Fury snarled across his bloodied face but when he opened his mouth nothing came out as Serenity jerked and sounds of a shuttle disengaging from the ship reverberated throughout the bay. Jayne turned round in a confused circle a couple of times before he sprinted as fast as he could to the docking port on the right hand side. The shuttle was still in position.

"Jayne! What in the sphincter of hell is going on?" roared Mal, as he and the rest of the crew looked bewildered at the frantic mercenary. Jayne hissed some strong mandarin expletives under his breath. River must have planned this, though he couldn't figure out how she could have done it, but it was all too clear.

"_Cao di yu!_ She's taken a shuttle! She's jumped ship!"

"She's taken a shuttle?" Simon watched with slight reluctance as the naked merc then stomped across to the other side. Simon's stomach was churning, as his fear for River increased tenfold. His hands were shaking, his whole body was shaking as well as he tried to fathom why his sister had done this. Not even Kaylee's soothing rubs on his back was calming him down. "What—what are we going to do?"

"We're 'bout four hours out from Persephone." Zoe stated, instantly running with Mal in the direction of the bridge. "We can catch up to her easily enough. We could even talk to her, get her to come back before we hit dirtside. "

"I want an open com link with that shuttle, now Zo!" When the first mate disappeared, Mal was all set to follow, but he paused briefly at the doorway and looked down over his crew. The abruptness of it all had everyone stunned, there was a silence, even from Finn who was tugging on Inara's dress in a plea for some answers. No one could give him any.

Jayne yelled suddenly in frustration, catching Kaylee off guard and making her jump and squeal. He roared obscenities, cursing River as his fist and foot vented his anger at the door. The door didn't take much notice, it only made the hurt worse.

Mal didn't want to hang around to hear his tantrum and so he rushed off after Zoe, hoping that they could get in contact with River.

"River has stolen my shuttle," Inara spoke after Jayne had finally finished yelling. She picked up Finn and held him gently in a supporting embrace as she looked up to Jayne. Her heart ached to see him so torn up like this. "Hasn't she?"

"Yeah…looks like it." Jayne tried to act as if it wasn't such a big thing, but the infuriated sound of his grinding teeth belied it. His whole attitude clearly showed to Kaylee and Inara that he was badly affected by River's disappearance. They understood, but Simon did not. He didn't want to understand.

"What did you do to her?" Simon sneered, breaking the momentary silence afterwards. Jayne said nothing except he let loose a threatening growl when Simon rushed up to block him on the stairs to the bridge. The usually pale Tam sibling was now fuming, he was angry, concerned and barely able to utter a word as he tried to face up to the taller man. "What did you do to my sister?"

"Nothin' that would'a made her do the crazy _go se_ she just pulled!" Jayne snapped viciously.

"How do you know? You have no idea what happened to River, what the academy did to her! The only reason why she is… " Simon closed his eyes and mentally counted up to ten in Mandarin. "…allowing this from you is because of what those _animals_ encoded into her! You're nothing more than a donor of genetic makeup which I sincerely hope won't include your brains or looks!"

"Simon!" Kaylee cried out. "Don't! Please don't provoke him no more!"

That was a little too late.

"That what you reckon?" Jayne snarled, shoving Simon back with poke of his finger. "For top three percent yer brain is fulla shit! It ain't like that! I happen to gorram l-!"

"_Kaylee! Get up to the bridge _ma shong_!" _Mal's voice came over the intercom and he was not best pleased. _"Our little Albatross has gorram stalled Serenity! Need you up here to get her moving again!"_

Kaylee didn't move. She was too busy looking at the fury on Simon's face. The redness on his skin had turned deathly white again and his mouth was hanging open in shock.

"I'm sorry?" Simon's voice strained and cracked with disbelief. "What were you going to say?"

"I lo—" realizing that he almost confessed to mushy romantic feelings Jayne cleared his throat. "I like her! Weren't the screamin' and hollerin' from our bunks enough to convince ya o' that?"

"I was trying not to listen!"

"_KAYLEE!"_

Mal's impatience and interruption only reminded the two men of the dire situation. Simon grabbed Kaylee's hand when she approached behind them and the two of them ran towards the bridge.

Jayne quickly followed

* * *

Kaylee was immediately under the front console, frowning at something but the sadness her voice was clear and unmistakable.

"Well she ain't done a Yo-Saf-Bridge," Said the mechanic, the name of the woman causing an irritated twitch to occur on Mal's face. "But she's done 'nuff to give herself a good head start. She'll get to Persephone 'fore we do, Cap."

"She's not responding to the comm hails either." Zoe said turning round from the pilot's chair. "She can hear but River's choosing to ignore us."

"Kaylee…" Mal pinched the bridge of his nose and he closed his eyes in a vain attempt to ignore the headache that was throbbing inside his skull.

"It's all right, Cap'n" The engineer said, half of her disappearing under the console. "I'm on it right now."

"Good." Mal took in a deep breath and released it through his flaring nostrils before looking at the two men behind him. "As for you two…tell me now what the hell is going on, or there will be unpleasantness. Why did my pilot sabotage my boat?"

"I dunno why she did what she did, Mal." Jayne said, unaware that he was mumbling slightly, the words difficult to speak as they couldn't form right in his head. "All I know is, just after we-!"

"Yeah! Skip the details, Jayne, don't need to hear it a second time." Mal flapped his hand in dismissal.

"She weren't herself! She b'came tearful and scared-like…cryin' on 'bout something that weren't gonna be ours. She went creepy, told me I weren't needed no more, then she gorram head butted me and it weren't in her usual good way neither."

"She head butts you in a good way?" asked Zoe, who immediately shook her head, regretting that she'd had asked him that question.

"Sure…it spurs things on…gets us all riled up more."

"Could we not talk about that?" Mal stammered and choked for a brief moment, before clenching his jaw in an "angry captain" type way. "My ship is dead in the black and my Albatross is AWOL. Now can someone please give me an explanation to all this insanity?"

"The baby." Simon gave Mal a stern look. "She's worried about what will eventually happen to the baby."

"The-what?" Jayne's eyes widened in absolute horror and he nearly slid off the chair. "What'cha talkin' about! What baby?"

Mal and Simon ignored the sudden outburst from Jayne.

"If Parliament and Blue Sun went through all the trouble of manipulating her DNA, to ensure a perfect little assassin offspring, could it be she's gone all loopy-like because she fears they might come after it? Or her?" Mal asked Simon.

The doctor nodded his head and he began to slowly pace the bridge. His hands were wringing together so tightly that his skin turned whiter than normal.

"They'll want the both of them."

"Mal?" Jayne was on his feet, pure confusion bulged in his eyes when no one responded. His mouth opened and closed and then the ringing in his head made him sway again. He staggered and Simon grabbed hold of him and steadied him down into the chair, but he still couldn't understand what was going on. "What's the priss-ass talkin' about? What ruttin' baby?"

"You are kidding me." Simon gasped, as Jayne continued to gawp in shock at him, Mal and Zoe. "Are you really that stupid? Are you not aware that without contraception what you did can actually lead to pregnancy?"

"I ain't stupid, core boy! I know how things work! Weren't like I had a damned choice….she kept me from-are ya seriously tellin' me….the gal is…..she gonna have my….?"

"It can be confirmed if I had more sophisticated equipment onboard yes," Simon had to swallow a thick chunk of bile that was caught in his throat. "but don't think she'll want any more from you now! River was merely triggered by an academy experiment designed for her to procreate. Unfortunately, she decided to do so with _you._"

The spite was so strong in Simon's tone, it seeped with immense detest and anger, which was understandable, but Jayne didn't care. A confliction of emotions stirred up in his chest and the chaos of it all was making his head hurt and with the increase of the headache, Jayne's own anger began to boil.

"Course..." There was a rumble from the naked mercenary, deep in his throat it growled with such menace that Mal and Zoe both reached for their guns. He was unpredictable when he was like this and Mal wasn't going to take any chances.

As if he wasn't busted up already, Jayne's fist shot out and impacted with the console in front of him. There was a crack and metallic crunch as bone and console broke with the force. Jayne yelled in agony and clasped his hand to his marked chest. Mal's yells of mad Captain speak fell on deaf ears as Jayne tried to control the swelling rage inside him. He stood staring down the barrel of Mal's gun, his eye twitching uncontrollably as he ground his teeth, ignoring Mal and the possibility he could get shot.

The week gone had actually meant something to him, but of course Jayne must have been stupid to think anything of meaning could happen with a woman like River. He was angry at her, not once did she say anything about the whole procreating thing, she had lured him into her trap and used him. She'd damned well made him kiss her on the mouth, she had made Jayne Cobb get "feelings!"

He was angry at Simon, the smug bastard. He wanted to punch the high and mighty priss in the face and shove a stick up his _pi gu_. He was angry at everyone else on this damned boat; Inara and Kaylee for their ridiculous notions about his thoughts on River, Zoe and that irritating snot faced kid of hers...Mal…but most importantly Jayne was angry at himself.

On Christmas he had said no to her loony come-ons but River had her way in the end…she always had her way. Of course he was a ruttin' idiot to think that after their multiple escapades this wouldn't happen, unprotected sexin' lead to the little baby things—he knew that-but Jayne was mad at himself for allowing both of them to continue as they did. He was livid that the little crazy nut-job had provoked feelings within him. He was a stupid _hundan_ fooled by a female's fiendish manipulation and wiles…and Jayne Cobb seethed with self-loathing for being so gullible.

"Jayne?" Zoe's cautious tone filtered through the huffing red rage and hurt he was feeling. "Ya gonna calm down…just for a little bit?"

"I still say I should shoot him." Mal sneered. "How we even put up with this torture for the last seven days, I don't know!"

"You know very well why…Inara explained it."

"Just because Inara said things, don't make me a likin' to it, Zo. Now I'm the Captain and unless this _hundan_ gets dressed and gets his hand seen to, there are going to be some bullet wounds added to the list of injuries, _dong ma_?"

Zoe wished that Mal would keep quiet, just for a moment. Right now he was like a kid perilously poking a grizzly bear with a stick.

"Will you guys stop bein' such _assholes_?" Kaylee's voice caused all three men to turn in her direction. The mechanic had come out from underneath the console looking anguished and pissed off at the same time. "River is out there! On her own and doin' who knows what and for why! Can't y'all just argue 'bout it later when she's back safe?"

"She's right." Zoe, still keeping her eye on Jayne, placed her hand on Mal's gun and lightly pressed down so the barrel was pointing at the floor. "We got more important things to concern ourselves with…right Sir?"

"Yeah." Mal reluctantly said. Simon nodded in agreement, but Jayne just snarled.

"Don't care what you lot do." He mumbled. "Go and find the loon for all I care. S'far as I'm concerned, the crazed bitch can stay the hell away."

"_Wang ba dan!_"

The young doc lunged towards Jayne with pure rage, but instead he barged straight into Zoe who had stepped between the two of them. Whilst Simon was scrambling and swinging his arms at Jayne, cussing words none of the crew thought he knew, Zoe and Kaylee did their best to keep him back. Mal blocked Jayne as best he could without coming into contact with any of Jayne's bareness.

"Wanna take a punch at me, ya whiny-ass?" Jayne sneered, edging forward and making Mal extremely uncomfortable as they bumped together. The Captain held up his gun, but the threat of being shot again fell on deaf ears. "Make me feel better why don't ya? Go follow your gorram sister and then I'll be rid of the pair of ya!"

"Jayne!" Kaylee's whine of protest shrieked a little high that everyone cringed their faces up. "That's horrible! Y'don't mean that! Cap'n...don't shoot him, he don't mean it!"

"Yes he does, Kaylee!" Simon sneered round Zoe pointing an accusing finger towards Jayne. "He has used River for his own degrading and sordid needs and now that he's finished with her, the _stinking fetid _ape, thinks he can do as he pleases! I don't know why I put up with him defiling my sister like he has! He makes me sick! Captain, shoot him! Put us all out of our misery!"

"Don't tempt me!" Mal yelled, priming his gun with a single flick of the catch.

"I _used_ her?" Jayne shouted back. "I used _her_?"

"You took advantage of a fragile young girl-!"

"Woman! She's a woman now ya fuckin' ass!"

The two men were beyond angry now. They were so volatile that Zoe and Mal were squashed between them-back to back-stunned and deafened by swear words, accusations and insults in fluent Mandarin. Mal had lost control but then that didn't matter as the pushing and shoving soon resulted in the final straw for him.

Mal only felt a slight graze down below as Jayne pushed up against him, but it was enough for Mal to release an all-powerful yell in Mandarin that silenced the arguing pair. It made Kaylee gasp in surprise and Zoe uttered a grateful thanks under her breath when Simon stepped away. Mal turned the gun on Simon, who was a lot more worried—and confused—as to why he was being threatened. The horrified look in the Captain's eyes was more than ample explanation of what happened. The twitch on his face was more prominent than ever and the gun was shaking a little in Mal's hand.

"Zoe…you will accompany the good Doctor and our resident ape to the infirmary." Mal's voice growled. Zoe nodded in acknowledgement and again helped the Captain to lower his weapon.

"A fine plan Sir. Suggest Jayne puts somethin' on first?"

"YES!" Mal responded rather loudly and suddenly. "Make him put some clothes on and if he EVER wanders `round Serenity in the all-togetherness again, he will be shot and then airlocked!"

"Mal…whadid I-?" Jayne's voice trailed off into horrific silence as he saw the Captain's eyes, twitching and flickering downwards. It took less than two seconds for Jayne to run off the bridge towards his bunk, his disgust all too clear as more swearing cusses filtered back to the other crew members.

"Doc, I'm ordering you to patch Jayne up. Make sure he ain't broken his head or his hand." Mal sighed with relief, but still tensed at the situation he had found himself in. Simon went to protest, but the gun clicked again and the young man nodded in reluctant agreement.

"Yes, Captain." Simon ran a hand over his forehead, down his face and nervously shuffled on his feet. "I apologise for my outburst. I haven't been comfortable with any of this since it happened and you know my feelings on…"

"Doc…I understand. Believe me I do." Mal finally holstered his weapon and placed his hands on his hips. "None of this was what either of us wanted. But your sister has been triggered….she chose Jayne. We're gonna go get her back and hopefully find some answers to all this. Just be patient with Jayne…one of us needs to be."

"It's going to be difficult, Mal."

"Never thought it wouldn't."

"We need to find my sister, Captain. I understand that, it's just that Jayne's treatment of her…the way they've both been….I can't believe that there's more to what they do…"

Both men's faces screwed up in disgust at the same time as the memories of the strange couple's antics came flooding back to them.

"Doc…I don't think either of us handled this well…not by a long shot, but go see to Jayne's injuries and…I'll get us—!"

"Ahem?"

"Sorry, Kaylee will get us back on track for Persephone. Remain calm is all and well best not say anything to him."

"Of course." Simon bobbed his head in gratitude. "Zoe…you don't need to babysit me….I'm a doctor and I can promise, I won't hurt him."

"It's not you hurtin' Jayne that we're worried about." Zoe said smiling and patting the doctor on the back. "The mood our merc is in right now…I think it would be best I come along."

Simon wasn't sure if what the first mate said was a good thing, but he walked out of the bridge with her. Mal was so relieved when they were gone, because he was getting sick of it all.

During the six years since Miranda, things had changed somewhat. All them disbelieving Core folk and fannies of the Alliance continued to keep them on the run.

A year after, Mal and Jayne became strangely proud—and boasted-about the fact that their bounties had gone up. The result of the raise meant avoiding the Feds become a lot easier. As new contacts and independent folk learnt of their doings at Miranda, a lot of support came their way, not only through jobs but in helping them avoid the corrupt arm of the Alliance.

Nothing bad had happened since then-it came close-but none of it concerned River or Blue Sun's obsession in retrieving its weapon. Mal was more than worried about his Albatross, he couldn't stop his maternal anxiety from overcoming him. A young gal—as lethal and creepifying as she was—needn't settle on the likes of Jayne, he was far too old for her and plus….Mal didn't like it. He also didn't like that once again, them sick bastards what had ruined the young woman's life in an attempt to correct their fucked up mistake, were doing so again. Only this time it was going to result in something that no one could predict.

A kid with River and Jayne's genes? This was a whole new world and 'Verse of trouble.

Mal slumped down into the pilot's seat, grabbing the handset of the comm system as he did so. He clasped the button on the side tightly and with a less than confident voice spoke into the device.

"River? Answer me, Albatross. Please?"

He didn't stop trying even though he knew she wouldn't respond. He didn't notice Kaylee as she worked feverishly to undo River's sabotage, he didn't even hear her come out from underneath his feet and proclaim her success.

Mal felt a fist nudge against his shin and he looked down to see her smiling greasy face. At the same time Simon came meandering back onto the deck.

"She's ready to go, Cap'n," Said the mechanic, scrambling up onto her feet. "Another four hours and we'll reach Persephone."

"Good work, little Kaylee." Mal nodded with approval and immediately set Serenity underway. The woman did a happy bouncing dance, sidled over to Simon and wrapped her arm around his waist. Her beaming smile lessened to one of hopeful comfort as he was clearly still in a state of fear for his sister.

"When will River get there?" he asked nervously.

"'Bout an hour 'fore us."

"Hadn't we contact someone on Persephone? Badger perhaps? He can-!"

"Don't trust him," Mal glanced over his shoulder. "even if he has put a lot of work our way. No one knows what's gone on with River and the less Badger knows about it the better. I'm hoping that your sister will have sense, no matter what state she's in, to keep away from him and the feds."

"When you put it that way…I hope so too."

"Well with the way my crew and luck has been going this last week I wouldn't get my hopes up." Mal shook his head in disappointment and disapproval. "Nothin' goes smooth in the way I want it to and having a merc not functioning to my standards irks me greatly. What he's done….what happened between him and yer sis…." Simon tensed harshly in Kaylee's hold and his face scrunched up with disgust. "Well…the pair of them have complicated things more than I'd like. "

"Jayne is a menace." Simon stated. "He hasn't changed much in his old age. He's gotten worse."

"Your sister is menace as well, doc…don't forget that."

"Captain!"

"Complications ain't welcome on my boat! They never have been! It was bad enough when the newest recruit came along…everyone got all broody and such like, but the little man is a terror and worse than his dad! Now there's the possibility of Jayne and River offspring? Do you know what hell that's gonna bring to me and the running of this ship?"

"Aw common now! Love ain't complicated!" Kaylee cooed and in an attempt to dissuade the men from their negative frame of thought radiated another blinding smile. It only resulted in Mal and Simon looking at her as if she had just suggested a truce with the Reavers. To them, this new mismatched pair probably felt the same. Their stubbornness and refusal to accept this was not going down well with Kaylee. She was getting annoyed now as their expressions still showed their disgust.

"You two are right dumb nuts aintcha? Whatever made River sabotage Serenity and steal 'Nara's shuttle maybe down to the Academy's messing with her mind or body, but them days n nights after Christmas…that was all them. No one else told 'em or made 'em be like that! You heard Inara, right? It was consensual and it's obvious Jayne has more than just a liking for River. He's in love!"

"Oh please! Inara said nothing of the sort!"

Now Kaylee was more than just irritated.

"Sure she said that! I happen to agree, so too does Zoe. You two were so disgusted by the fact that Jayne and River had somethin'….special that'cha didn't want to listen! You still don't!" Kaylee wriggled out of Simon's hold and folded her arms across her chest. "Every time they argued or fought, you'd try to break 'em up because _it_ always happened! After all the yellin' and screamin' and the abusive names came the fightin' and then their sexin'…you couldn't face up to it! Poor Captain Daddy and Big Brother! So afraid that River was actually making a choice of her own, that it made her happy and it weren't nothin' to do with the trigger! Because you didn't like her choice in sexing partner and that you seriously can't believe that Jayne would treat her right-!"

"But have you seen the marks he's given her!"

"AH!" Kaylee shot Simon a daggered look that pierced deep and shut him up. "You're acting like a couple of _hundans_ with their heads buried in the sand! This ain't about you two now…this is 'bout River and Jayne. He's all wigged out cuz of the whole becomin' a pa thing and he is worried about River. Like the rest of us!"

"Worried! Worried?" Simon scoffed and shook his head. Mal nodded to the sentiment. "Kaylee, he has just said we should leave her, abandon her to be picked up by the alliance and possibly taken back to the academy again! He doesn't care about anything or anyone except himself! River was just someone to sex, to use and…"

"Yer worse than idiots!" Kaylee screeched. "Well you'll see! You'll both see that you're wrong and that Jayne is just angry and confused is all. But I'm tellin' ya, when we land on Persephone, Jayne Cobb will be the first person in that bay waiting at the door and he will be the first person to go out and look for her!"

"Kaylee…love ain't what those two got." Said Mal. "They just got…"

The amount of curses and names in Mandarin, which came from Kaylee's mouth, left the two men gob smacked. It was on Jayne's level of swearing, it was that foul. The last name she spat out at them before marching angrily off the bridge, probably would have made the merc blush.

"I—I…" Simon looked to Mal for some help, for an explanation as to why Kaylee had gotten so angry. But he knew, as Simon fell into the co-pilot's chair, that she was right. Yet all his brotherly instincts was screaming at him and telling him that Jayne was wrong, extremely wrong for River.

"You know Inara's not usually wrong about these things." Mal said as both men looked out to the black. "And well there was consenting and..."

"I just want what's best for River." Simon replied, not really wanting to dwell on any more of Jayne Cobb. "I always have and always will. Right now, I want her back, Captain. I just want her safe and back here with me…with all of us."

"We'll get her, doc." Mal offered a small reassuring smile, even though he was feeling the exact same way. "She's crew, part of this family. Not gonna give up on her now either, just because she and the scruffy lookin' merc of mine are expectin'…"

Mal allowed his voice to trail off into silence. There were a lot of issues none of those men wanted to confront but it would only be when their flown Albatross returns home.

"River…."

* * *

They told him to stay away from the mercenary, but like any six year old, Finn did the exact opposite. He watched from the doorway of the infirmary as Simon bandaged up Jayne's hand; then when the giant stormed from the room, it took all Finn had to keep up with him.

His giant uncle ignored him and locked himself away in his bunk but Finn was adamant, so he sat down outside and waited. He knocked a couple of times and instead of the angry replies there was nothing. Finn worried when Jayne didn't snap at him.

Eventually Jayne emerged from his den, dressed in his shabbiest t-shirt and khakis. On his person he had a couple of knives and two guns holstered on each hip. His outback hat was dangling over his back as the lanyard hung around his neck and in the midst of his ruffled hair, Finn saw his shades. With the nail marks over his face, Jayne looked more frightening than ever. Finn didn't say anything, simply rose from the floor and followed the merc to the galley. Jayne didn't like it.

"Whadya want?"

"Your hand okay, Unca' Jayne?"

Jayne looked at his bandaged hand and nodded but sneered at the boy.

"I ain't ya uncle. Tol' ya enough ruttin' times!"

"Okay."

No one else was in the mess hall which suited Jayne just fine and he walked over to the counter, grabbed a mug and poured himself some water. After a moment's contemplation he picked up a smaller cup for Finn.

"What you gonna do when we reach `Sephony?" the boy asked curiously as Jayne poured some water for him.

"Nothin'"

"`Nara and Kaylee says you're gonna find River."

"Well…they're wrong."

"You don't like her?"

"Nope."

"She don't like you neither? Is that why she beat you up?"

Jayne nearly dropped the mug of water. He turned and glared down at the boy in the most intimidating and menacing stare he could muster. Even at such a young age, his look had no effect on Wash's kid.

"No!"

"You beat her up cuz you don't like her?"

"I don't beat up on wimmin, boy!" Jayne was startled that Finn could even think such a thing. "Beatin' lady folk ain't the done thing, not ever! _Dong ma?_"

Finn was clearly confused, though it relieved Jayne somewhat to see him nod.

"So…you beat each other up because you like each other?"

Finn may have only been six years into existence in this 'Verse, but he knew there weren't much that shocked, startled or embarrassed Jayne Cobb. When the giant's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open, there was a red flush over his face and his normal sturdy posture wavered as his feet became unsteady. It was a brief lapse in menacing-ness, for Jayne recovered, straightened himself up and scowled at the boy.

"D'you want this drink or not, squirt?" he leered, holding out the cup and waving it back and forth in front of Finn's face. The boy nodded. "Well, don't ask questions that don't concern ya or ya don't understand! Now shuddup and drink!"

Jayne gave him the cup, which he had to grasp with both hands and he watched as Jayne downed his mug of water in one long gulp. Finn tried to copy him but only succeeded in spilling some of the liquid down his favourite dino t-shirt. While he wiped down his damp clothing, he didn't notice Jayne leave until he looked up and saw that he was alone.

He ran after the merc, knowing that Jayne was heading for the cargo bay instead of his bunk, where he had been mooching. His adopted uncle plonked himself down onto one of the crates they were transporting for Badger and immediately had one of his knives spinning and twirling through his fingers. Finn scrambled up onto a crate next to Jayne and watched with absolute fascination as Jayne wasn't even looking at what he was doing. With his determined and angry stare fixated on the bay doors, Jayne didn't drop the weapon once.

The silence soon bored the boy.

"Are you just fibbin? Cuz I don't think you hate River. Not really."

"Ain't you got better things to do?"

Before Finn could even answer back with a smug reply that often channeled his father, Mal's voice came over the intercom.

"_Folks, we're settling down into Eavesdown shortly. I want everyone ready to disembark straight away! There are reports of fed activity so be aware! River will be needin' us people, so there's no time for fannyin' around!" _

Finn saw the brief flash of pride and amusement on Jayne's face. It vanished just as quickly as it had appeared when the knife was driven forcefully into the wood of the crate and Jayne rose up. He took a few steps towards the door and stood in the centre of the bay, legs parted and his arms across his chest. He was way ahead of Mal.

"Thought you weren't gonna do nothin'" Finn said, swinging his legs and knocking his heels against his own crate.

"I'm not."

"So….whatcha doin'?"

"Nothin'."

"Huh?" Finn scratched his fluffed sandy black hair in confusion but before he could ask any more questions, the rest of the crew—with the exception of Mal—came down the stairs. Seeing his mother, Finn jumped down to the floor and rushed over to her. Zoe swept him easily up into her arms and gave him a huge squeezing hug.

"You all right?" she asked as she smooched a kiss against her son's cheek.

"I asked him!" Finn said, not bothering to lower his voice so that the others and Jayne wouldn't hear. "I asked but…it don't make sense…."

"Don't think any of us know what's goin' on. Ask again when you're older…."

"But-!"

Serenity juddered as she entered atmo, causing the six year old to cling to his mother with ferocity. All eyes with the exception of his, for he buried his face into Zoe's chest, focused on Jayne. His sturdy and determined stance near the far end of the ship conflicted with those angry words he had expressed earlier and it bewildered Simon greatly.

"Told ya." Kaylee hissed with slight contempt to Simon as at last the ship touched down on Persephone. Simon merely shifted uncomfortably on his feet, his fingers wrung tightly around the handles of his medical bag as he watched Jayne hover by the panel, his hand twitching over the door release button.

Mal gave the all clear once and within that second, Jayne's fist punched down on the controls to release the ramp. As the sunlight of Persephone cut through into Serenity, he edged forward even more, Cerys and Yasmin clenched tightly in his hands. But he and the rest of the crew were not expecting the sight of a greeting party when the edge of the ramp hit the dirt.

A squad of local Feds surrounded the exit of Serenity, all with their weapons pointed in their direction. In an instinctual move both Jayne and Inara moved in front of Zoe and Finn, shielding the boy just in case the purple bellies were trigger happy. Zoe already had a gun of her own out and her arm squeezed her son even more tightly to her body.

"Lay down your weapons!" called the senior officer, a tall balding man who looked to be the overconfident type. He probably thought he was the best officer in the entire Alliance.

"There's a child on board!" Inara calmly called out, holding her hands defensively towards the patrol. "Don't shoot….we won't resist. Right?"

Jayne didn't need to be told twice by the Companion. Sure he reckoned he could take out these sissy band of lawmen, but the risk was too great with Finn around. He placed both his guns on the ground and held up his hands, grimacing with hate and impatience at the men as they slowly walked up the ramp. They made one wrong move though and Bette, who was concealed down the back of his pants, could end it all.

"What's goin' on now? Why ain't we-?" Mal's hands went up immediately when he saw the Feds and he couldn't help but sigh in frustration. "Great…just what we need."

The officer in charge saw Mal on the stairs and ordered for him to come down and join the others. The Captain did so, but he put on his light and "innocent" manner and smiled.

"Is there a problem, officer?"

"Is this your entire crew?" The C.O gave a couple of his men a nod of his head, indicating for them to go and search the rest of the ship.

"Yes sir it is."

"And are you three the only men on this Firefly?"

"Well…he's not…." Jayne said, jerking his thumb in Simon's direction. Mal stood next to Jayne and frowned at him.

"Yes. We are, with the exception of the boy of course. I'm sure your own will confirm that."

"The boy we're not interested in."

Sure enough a few minutes later the junior officers returned and confirmed that there were no others hiding on the boat. One of them also stepped forward and gave his superior a small device which was bleeping and displaying something on the screen.

"Well, well, well." The CO beamed happily as if he had just won the lottery. "Captain Reynolds, Doctor Tam and Jayne Cobb, it seems this is my lucky day. You three have a considerable bounty on your heads and so does the rest of your crew. I should take you all in right now. You three are coming with me and the rest will remain here until more transport can be provided. Your vessel will be land locked to prevent any escape and some guards will also stay to make sure the ladies don't do anything foolish. Gentlemen…I suggest you co-operate."

"We shall."

"Mal!" Jayne and Simon protested but the Captain had the last say. He held out his hands and allowed himself to be cuffed.

"Do as the man says. I have a feelin' this is going to beneficial to us."

"How?" asked Simon as his hands were bound together, a little too tightly. He winced. The young Fed who cuffed Jayne hands was shaking with fear as he clipped the rings round the merc's wrists. Jayne snarled and the man staggered back.

"I just have a feeling is all. Captain's intuition." Mal turned round as he was slowly lead away. "Ladies…look after my ship."

"We will, Captain. Have fun without us, Sir." Said Zoe.

"Be careful, Mal." The Captain smiled softly at Inara and gave Finn a cheerful two handed wave. He gave his first mate a gentle bob of his head.

The women could only watch with concern as the men were lead away, shoved and pushed down the ramp. Well, Simon and Mal were, the two officers escorting Jayne kept themselves at a reasonable distance from him.

Simon glanced a couple of times over his shoulder, regretting seeing that look upon Kaylee's face and remembering how he had angered her earlier. Now he could only hope that the Captain was right and that somehow their arrest would help them in finding River. He was not optimistic at all.

"Not so funny now is it?" Jayne whispered to Mal when they were herded through the crowds. "Boastin' `bout our bounties."

"Agreed. Though I still don't understand why yours is higher than mine."

"Wanna get into that argument again?"

"Not really. Just want to know what's going on. This is has something to do with River. I'm certain of it."

Jayne agreed.

It wasn't long before Mal's hunch was confirmed. The patrol led them through the chaos of Evesdown docks, past a number of ships and their crews and past street performers. Jayne's stomach rumbled loudly as they walked by the 'Good Dogs' vendor and he paused and looked hopeful at the sizzling meat frying in the pan. Mal felt hungry now too…but they carried on. Now was not the time for eats.

When they reached the custom Police transport which would take them away to the station, it was the dazzling and very out of place silver ship next to it that caused the officers to become apprehensive. However it was the two tall bulky looking men, dressed in black Chinese suits, caused all of them to be weary.

They were extremely imposing and Mal instantly knew why. Where Jayne was always intimidating and imposing because of his angry demeanor, these men looked dangerous because of their smiles. Mal didn't need to be a genius like Simon or River to know exactly who they were. He had met one of their kind six years ago.

"Operatives." Jayne spat. The hacked phlegm shot past the fed escorting him, making him jump in shock. "`Kin' asshats."

"Captain Reynolds. Welcome." The shortest of the two men stepped forward, completely ignoring the Officers surrounding them. "If you and your two crew members would come with us, someone wishes to meet with you and hopefully She can answer some of your questions."

"I'm sorry…" The CO stepped in between Mal and the Operative, not noticing at all, the deadly flash behind the dark green eyes. "But these men are criminals and we have to detain and process them. I'm sure your employer can have words after we've charged them."

"You do not understand." The green eyed man smiled even wider, a false and threatening smile emphasized even more when his partner, who stood taller than Jayne, came up behind him. "This is not up for debate. They are coming with us."

The operative handed the CO an ID chip, which was unlike the standard chips. It was dark blue in overall colour and there was a faint silver mark on the back. The Fed curiously took it and slotted it into the device he unclipped from his belt. There was a bleep as the chip was registered and the small screen lit up with an intense dark blue light. Mal, Jayne and Simon could only watch the man as his eyes widened in shock and his hands started to shake. There was a sudden flash of silver from the device and it was all the authorization that he needed to know. Fearfully he ripped the chip out of the reader and handed it back to the Operative. Who bowed politely in thanks.

"Let's go lads….we're out of here."

"But…Sir!"

"That is an order!"

As the pathetic looking Alliance officers walked away, Mal, Jayne and Simon looked to the Operatives, who's polite expressions faded into cold sincerity. One opened the hatch on the ship and held out his hand to the black and dark interior.

"Who are we going to see?" asked Simon, as none of them moved to get into the ship.

"The lady we work for." Said Green eyes, putting on the smallest and fakest smile he could muster.

"Is she the reason why my sister has...?"

"We don't know what she wants with you, Doctor Tam." Green Eyes shrugged his shoulders. "We merely do as we are ordered. We do what we believe in. The men from the Firefly are of great concern and interest for her."

Simon slowly complied and climbed into the ship. Mal followed but when Jayne went to get through, the Operative who had remained silent, the man taller than himself, grabbed Jayne's face and looked with fascination and interest at the nail marks on his face.

"What? You sly, _ji ba_?" The man's fingers let go. "Try anythin' and ya balls will be ripped apart like a wet paper bag!"

"Jayne…just get in the damned ship!"

Cobb eventually complied and then the hatched closed, enveloping them all in complete darkness. A few seconds later a blue light came on and cast an eerie glow over the three men. They couldn't see out anywhere, there were no signs of the Operatives and the tight small space they were in didn't allow for much room to move about.

It wasn't long before they felt the ship lift off and fly away. It was a few minutes of silence before Jayne, fidgeting because of the lack of room his long legs had, became more than frustrated.

"I don't like this. We're captured by Gover-ment goons, being taken to god knows where and we ain't gotta plan! What makes you so damned certain these queers and their missus knows where River is?"

"I think it's a very reasonable deduction, Jayne." Mal said, scowling at the handcuffs around his wrists. "That ID chip got them local feds real scared. It showed 'em somethin' big and there ain't anything bigger other than Parliament and their Academy. This reeks of their doings. River has to be with them."

"Did ya think they might not have her and now we've just become gorram bait?"

"Yes I did think of that."

"And…well?"

"I have it all under control!" Mal's voice didn't sound that confident. "Zoe knows what she needs to do."

"What about us? What about River?" asked Simon.

"Well if they have got her and this woman can give us some answers as to what the gorram hell was done to her…we'll find them out and then wait for Zoe."

"Why? What is Zoe going to do?"

"Honestly? I haven't a clue, but knowin' Zoe…she'll do something. We in the meanwhile will jus' focus on the figurin' why River went and stole the shuttle. That we can get from whoever is in charge of these Operatives."

"We're not going to try and escape then?" asked Simon. Mal and Jayne shook their heads. If Mal was practically beaten to death by the last Operative, there was a good chance that the current two would be more than a match for either of them. There was nothing more they could do, except wait and see where they would be taken to.

* * *

The room was bathed in a blue calming glow. She felt like she was underwater, as ripples flickered over the bare walls. She stretched her arms out to the side and closed her eyes, feeling the imaginary tides of water envelope her, calm her and ease the worries and fears to the back of her mind.

It wasn't safe here though. River knew this. Here the Beautiful Star had come and all those promises given to her were vanishing. They were swept away with the undertow but River was determined that she wasn't going to be.

The door behind her creaked open and River snapped out of her trance. The fear and terror came back as she saw the four men enter, carrying the thing she dreaded the most. She shook her head, the long tatters of her hair knotted even more with her desperate shakes and River wrapped her arms around her waist as she backed up against the wall. The calm soothing tides were now in turmoil, they were swirling around her, dragging her down and drowning her. The silence of her ocean erupted with deafening noises and choking emotions, it bombarded her again and again until she collapsed on a heap in the corner. She curled up as tightly as possible, shaking.

"No! Won't go back in there! Won't! It's too much! It's too much!"

"_Don't worry little one." _The Star's voice whispered in gentle Mandarin near her ear, but through the agony of the others around River, it was this gentleness that hurt the most. _"We're going to confirm conception first and when the father gets here you can be changed. You can be the River Tam you are meant to be."_

Rough hands grabbed at her arms and her body and lifted her up from the floor. She struggled, she resisted with all her might but River couldn't stop the men from forcing her into the chair and binding her tightly. Her head was wrenched back hard into the headrest behind her and cold metal clamped around her face.

As a needle dug into her head and into her belly, she cried out for her family. She cried for the three in her life that she knew would eventually come and rescue her.

The New Year was getting closer….and so was her death.

tbc


	2. Beautiful Star

_Author's Note: Not much to mention, but this is the second part of possibly and three or four part story. I just keep writing way to much and making it more complicated. But hey! Here it is. Again big word out to BBJ for the beta. Mistakes in this are mine...not his. So there probably will be some. _

_Character's are not mine, except for Finn and other OCs._

* * *

**Beautiful Star**

"Well?"

The short Asian man scurried up to the desk and planted the scrolling cortex sheet into an outstretched hand. He took a few steps back, bowing as he did so until the bulk of the big armed man stopped him. He straightened up and stood by his partner's side, grinning with a little trepidation.

The apple turned. The peel coiled and broke off, dropping to the floor and joining the other strips in the pile. After a few more revolutions the apple stopped turning and it was lifted, still skewered and bare, to a hungry devouring mouth. It bled its ripe sweet juices all down the sleeve of a scruffy coat.

"Why was I not gorram informed of this earlier?"

"I only just got here," Murmured the short Asian man still shaking under his employer's pissed off stare. "I rushed back as soon as I saw them being taken away."

A loud crunch filled the room as another segment of apple was bitten away by its consumer. Badger munched angrily on the fruit in his mouth and swiped a sleeve across his lips to stop the juices from drooling further down his chin. He was not happy.

He was one of Persephone's most successful businessmen; dealing in everything and anything, and was always one step ahead of the gorram law. He may not be one of them rich fancy folks with their luxury estates, nor was he often allowed to deal with their kind, but he was successful. He had contacts and associates who allowed him to know precisely what was going on on his planet.

Tonight was the first New Year and there were preparations to be made. A big to-do of sizeable proportions was going off tonight and it was not going to go well if his cargo wasn't delivered. Badger had gone to the most reliable people he had known. Of a sorts.

But he should have known something weren't going to go right when his men brought him news of a special arrival. No one knew who it was, but about three days ago a ship landed on this rock carrying a very important passenger. Security had doubled at this unexpected arrival, Feds were everywhere and it was putting a gorram stick in his plans.

Then of all things, there was the girl.

That Reader girl who had seen his mind and knew of his origins had caused quite a stir and so he had steered clear of her. He wasn't going to get too involved even if he did know her and the crew of misfits she flew with. Though he did keep tabs on her, because if anything happened to Mal's crew and the Browncoat found out he didn't do anything….well their business relationship would suffer a hefty proportion for sure. Badger continued to eat his apple and looked at the video cortex feed.

The girl was dressed funny…the identifiable tatty t-shirt belonged to_ Serenity's_ merc, it swamped her petit frame and as she fought against the officers who came to arrest her, she did so with one hand, the other gripping hold to keep up a pair of man's boxers. Cobb's as well? Why the pretty little thing was wearing that brute's clothes was something he didn't want to dwell on.

Eventually, in the video, she was taken away but Badger noted that it wasn't because the Feds gained the upper hand. She allowed herself to be taken.

Those eyes had been empty. There had always been something off about her, but as he replayed the feed, he saw this was a special kind of crazy. This was the girl who had shown Reynolds Miranda…this was the girl who was responsible for exposing the corruption of Parliament and the truth behind the Reavers. The rumoured whispers were saying she was a weapon, designed by the Parliament's brass specifically to fight the Reavers, to clean up their mess. Badger hadn't seen any evidence of it until now but there was something to such rumour. He'd known her and that crew for too long….

"What are you up to, luv?" he muttered to himself.

"So what shall we do, boss?" asked the taller man after Badger watched the feed another two times. "If the Feds have _Serenity_ land locked and Reynolds has been arrested, what do we do about the shipment?"

"It was just Reynolds, Cobb and Tam's brother taken?" asked Badger as he munched on the core of the apple. The man nodded. "The women are on the ship with the kid?"

"Yes, Sir," Said the short Asian man. "But I've heard news that the men didn't reach the station. Someone else has taken them."

"This is gonna be a bit of a problem then, innit?" Badger scowled and threw the remainders of the fruit into the bin by his chair. He leaned back and tipped his bowler hat up with a single finger. "However, gentlemen….it don't take a lotta brains to figure out who 'as done the takin' now, do it? Send some of the usual bunch out-ta gather more intel. In the meanwhile, I'm gonna pay _Serenity_ a visit. See if I can't get my stuff back."

"There are officers on the ship, boss. They might not…"

"I's a persuasive man. I 'ave a way with words and the talent for turnin' a few 'eads, right?"

Badger opened the draw on his desk and pulled out a small wad of notes. The two other men grinned.

"Right, Boss."

The men didn't move for a good few minutes. They stood there with gormless looks upon their faces and Badger frowned with impatience.

"Well, get goin' then!"

The two nodded and both walked out of the room. Badger sighed, straightened his tie and got up from his chair. He picked up the cortex flyer and watched the news scroll over and over.

"Reynolds. I'll be gorramed if you screw New Years up f'r me."

* * *

**Four days ago**

He was asleep, snoring contently with his arms wrapped around her body and his fingers instinctively stroking pleasurable caresses against her hip. River smiled and kissed her mouth on his chest, humming with pleasure as she rose and fell in time with his breathing.

He was savage and brutal…so hard in their sexing that it made her feel beyond alive. She loved the force and weight of him on top of her, she loved the size of him within her and the sound of his animal vocals roaring in her ear.

Her Jayne. Her choice. Her man.

He had sapped her of energy and calmed her stormy waters. She loved it when both of them were sated, restful and close but River knew that the bad storm would return to rile her up again soon. She was afraid and when she shivered, Jayne made a sudden snort in his sleep and his arms coiled round her back and squeezed her in an assuring manner.

Comforted by his drowsy squeeze, River closed her eyes and settled down to sleep with Jayne. It took but a few moments for slumber to take over, but then only minutes later, she woke with a start.

A burning sweat covered her, making her shake uncontrollably. She wasn't lying on top of Jayne anymore, who was blissfully unaware of her sudden awakening, so she slipped off the edge and crumbled to the floor, unable to breathe except with heavy panting breaths. The heat was too much, the hurt was like thousands of needles in her head.

_"They cut into her brain. They did it over and over…." _

"Jayne!" her voice croaked barely above a pleading whisper.

He didn't hear. Why didn't he hear her? Didn't he know that she wasn't there, could he not feel her absence?

There was a whine from the bed. Jayne rolled over and when she looked up and through her clawed fingers, she saw the frown on his face. His hand reached out to the wet empty space beside him and there was a pained whine again when he touched nothing but sheets.

"Jayne." She pleaded for him again, but she felt so dizzy. She couldn't focus on anything as she and everything around her continued to shake. Her head was throbbing so much River started to cry. "Make it stop. Please _bao bei!_ Make it stop!"

Just when she thought her head would surely burst open from the pain and heat, there was a _pop_ in her side. Then it felt as if someone had shoved a sharp thin needle into her skull and into her belly.

_"They stripped her amygdala. She feels everything." _

_"But only what we want you to. There is nothing…only what needs to be done. Talk to me. Tell me, my Xuan ni, tell me where you are…will you be with me soon?" _

The tears stopped. River sat bolt upright and rose to her feet. She ran her fingers through her sweating hair and walked calmly to the door. She needed to know. It was essential.

She gently slid the door across and as naked as the day she arrived on Serenity, walked through the darkness of the ship. It was getting hotter, but her discomfort was ignored; the stinging in her eyes, the sweat dripping onto the floor and the smarting of her new wounds from Jayne, were dismissed, completely forgotten when at last she reached the place she could read and know.

River slipped into her pilot seat and immediately began calling up a wave link on the comm. It took a few seconds for the connection and as expected, there was no visual nor sound but River could hear the voice in the words as they scrolled across the screen.

_"Are you coming soon, little one? I need to know that you will be here."_

"_Shi._" River stated, her fingers tapping over the keyboard in synch with her voice. "I will be there."

_"So it's happened then. You've chosen?" _

"_Shi." _

Although she couldn't see it, River could clearly picture a soft and pleasant smile to that response.

_"I've risked a lot, little one. Years of my life's work have gone into this and you know that l was _very _upset when you ran away last time. You and your brother chose a very inconvenient time to break from my Academy. Now, you have to come back, but I need you to get Him to come as well and I don't mean your brother." _

_"Wo dong." _River stiffened in the chair. "I can get him to you."

_"I can't wait. Tell me, when will you both arrive so I can start to make preparations?" _

"Four days."

Again River remembered a smile.

_"Excellent, bao bei! When you get here, the two of you are going to start something far greater than Miranda. All those promises I made to you…they'll be finally upheld when you arrive. I'm so excited to be able to see you again, River!"_

"As am I."

River remembered a laugh. It had been sweet like music but at the same time, promised pain.

_"No, you're not. You are not supposed to feel anything, River, but we can amend your emotional outbursts in four days. I will see you on Persephone. "_

River didn't get a chance to say anything else. The connection was broken and the light that had projected from the screen flashed out, engulfing the bridge in darkness save the starlight. River didn't move, she remained still as a rock, her dark blank emotionless eyes gazing out at the black.

It was a couple of hours later when she heard behind her his heavy footfalls. There was a groaning still-half-asleep growl and a snort before a murmur of incomprehensible words, words mainly complaining at being up so early in the "night cycle."

"Crazy." Jayne's accent drawled even more thickly through his fatigue. "You really are just that if yer awake at this gorram time of the cyc. No one should be up now unless it's for eatin', sexin or takin' a piss and you ain't doin' none of them."

River looked away from the black and saw Jayne in his boxers and a t-shirt. He looked like he had crawled out from a long term's hibernation instead of just a night's sleep, for there were bags under his eyes, his hair was sticking up at funny angles and his whole body posture was slumped as if he barely had the strength to hold his massive figure up. River didn't reply and turned her attention back to the black.

"Moony…come back to bed." River shook her head and then she heard a surprised grunt. "You not wearin' anythin'?"

"I'm waiting to see the Sun." She looked through her hair at Jayne only for a moment. He was still not awake, in fact he let out a huge yawn and messed his own hair even more when he scratched the back of his skull.

"Well ya not gonna get a ruttin' tan by sittin' nekkid on the bridge. There ain't any sun. It's just the Black."

"We will see the Sun together."

"Not ruttin' likely. I'm goin' back to bed, my own bed. Stay here and gawp all ya want."

River didn't take any further notice. She went back to engulf herself in the infinity of the 'Verse. Before, the vastness of space and it's never ending vista astonished and overjoyed her, she loved it. Now it was what it was. She had no feelings whatsoever on it or anything else.

She was going to wait.

Suddenly her view of space was interrupted as a large t-shirt was thrown at her face. River peeled back the item of clothing, looked at it curiously before looking up at Jayne, who was now half naked but not looking any more awake than before.

She scowled.

"Put it on. Mal'd bust all the blood vessels in his head if he knew you was here nekkid."

River threw the t-shirt at Jayne.

"I'm not jokin'! Put the shirt on!" Jayne threw it back.

The t-shirt was tossed back and forth a couple more times before Jayne's patience broke and he swept her up from the chair and flung her over his shoulder. He snorted a sleepy and triumphant chuckle and smacked her bottom as he began to walk off the bridge.

"Don't mess with me when I'm tired, Crazy. I'm likely to snap."

River did.

Her mind flashed with endless images of hurt and death. There were hundreds of ways to kill a person; all blurred and meshed together. It was all of Jayne and of now as he held her in this position. His neck snapped between the crush of her legs, his spine was severed with her bare hands ...there were so many, easily achievable without the means of guns or weapons, and there were intricate details of quick and bloodless methods as well.

She should have acted instantly. It was what happened when she entered her Weapon mode. River became someone else and the most efficient kill method should have been chosen and carried out in less than a second, instead her hand paused, seconds before landing a killer blow.

_THWACK._

"OW!"

The elastic on Jayne's boxers snapped harshly on his skin. The sound made her giggle a chortle which sounded far from innocent or pleasant. She did it again—THWAK—and in return she felt a smarting palm strike the flesh of her buttocks. River smiled coldly, for a brief second.

The sharp pain jabbed at her side again and a scorching heat flooded over and in her body. Her vision blurred and dizziness made her shake.

_"I need you to get him to come too."_

No killing.

She grabbed hold of Jayne's ass, and dug her fingers through the material of his shorts and into flesh and muscle. He screamed a deep bellowing roar and she shifted her weight further down his back so her legs wrapped around his neck. Her inner thighs squeezed and choked his airway, which in turn made him stagger round the bridge. Jayne's hands pried at her legs desperately, but he couldn't pull them apart, nor was she going to let him.

She let him stagger and turn in circles of desperation, coughing, gasping and somehow managing to curse her as he tried to breathe until she saw what she needed. River released the hold on his rear—ripping little tears in the fabric—and grabbed for the frame of the doorway.

She held tight and fast whilst her legs loosened a little and allowed Jayne to turn round. Now she was against his chest, her face level with his groin and with her legs around his neck, his face—his breath panting over her flesh—was inches away from her entrance.

A single twist from her legs and she could snap his neck. She could kill him so easily. She could rip off his man part…she could watch him bleed.

"Oh shit. Didn't know you were into that ass-fixi-ation stuff! Jeez!" His panting words breathed heavily between her legs, followed by the tease of goatee as he rubbed his face against her inner thighs. River tensed, the tease of Jayne made a sudden shot of pleasure gush from her and then Jayne's mouth clamped over her lips.

He laughed into her before he devoured her. He lapped his tongue in deep, becoming unbalanced as he tried to keep her in position with his arms flat against her back and his hands prying apart her buttocks. The haze overtook her, so did confliction.

_Kill. No…let him carry on….let him. Fuck! _

She whined.

_"The two of you are going to start something greater than Miranda." _

Kill or not to kill. To have…to take and possess. She couldn't function, she couldn't control the conflicting feelings within her. She wasn't supposed to be having feelings! River was lost, her body juddered and spasmed with every languish lick of his tongue over her clit, she quivered as his goatee heightened the pleasure even more, and he drank of her…he drank her all.

"_Shi! Shi! Ma de!_" River screamed.

She had to hold on, but there was nothing except one thing.

Jayne choked, he stumbled out and off the bridge and down the steps, nearly falling over as her grip around his tightened and squeezed. It wasn't what he was expecting, but he wasn't pushing her away. The rumble of want sounded against River's belly, she felt him harden and she couldn't resist. As soon as he closed his mouth over her again, River let his cock free and repaid him in kind.

"SHIT!" Jayne choked and this time he did lose his balance. He crashed into the wall of the corridor, nearly knocking Kaylee's decorations off but he managed to prevent from crushing River by extending his arms and supporting himself upright. His forehead smacked against the metal, her legs kept her in position and she took him deep.

"Bunk! Bunk!" Jayne's words were mumbled, he gasped and he was swaying as the girl attached to his front and to his _diao_ swallowed him and again, keeping a grasp on him at his base. "Gotta…go to…my bunk!"

River felt him move, she was jerked to the side as he kicked open his bunk.

"Dammit, girl…oh _ta ma de_! Not here!" Jayne had to stifle his cries before the rest of the crew heard and he did so by burying his face within her again.

Everything was chaos, a jumbled mess of intense emotion and sensation intermingled with cold moments of emptiness, of nothing. River was in turmoil, pleasured and fearful, she craved for more of Jayne, she needed him. She was going to kill him.

At least that was what she felt she ought to do.

Jayne would be first and then perhaps the dumbfounded Captain standing at the mess hall doorway in total shock.

* * *

Zoe didn't like being helpless. The guards watching them were making her trigger finger itchy. Their weapons had been confiscated, but then that didn't mean that her fists couldn't dish out some hurt. It was just her luck that they hadn't been left with completely inept guards. The two feds were watching the women very closely so there wasn't much of chance to jump them.

"Gorram, feds."

"Finn!" Inara chided the six year old for his outburst, pulling him lightly back away from the two frowning guards. "You can't speak like that."

"Jayne does! The Captain does!" Finn whined, turning round to poke his tongue out at the guards. "'kin asshats!"

"Finn!" Zoe's angry tone and stern glare made him shut his mouth instantly. "We're gonna have to have words about you and Jayne hanging out too much. Watch your tongue young man."

"But ma! You do it too!"

* * *

The sound of guns being cocked and a little high squeaky "eep" from Kaylee made Zoe turn round. The feds were pointing their guns directly at them and that just weren't on. No one threatened her son.

"You got a problem with my boy?" she asked. "You like pointin' guns at kids?"

That seemed to actually shock one of them. Eventually both of the men lowered their guns and looked down at Finn as he grasped onto his mother's side. Finn adopted his father's _neener-neener_ look and poked his tongue out again.

"Zoe…what we gonna do 'bout the Captain, Simon and Jayne?" asked Kaylee when the first mate slowly walked back with Finn to her and Inara.

"I do have an idea." Zoe bobbed her head a little and watched as Finn then let go of her and gave Kaylee a hug. "But we've gotta get rid of those feds first and they ain't makin' it easy."

"We need a distraction." Inara suggested.

None of the _Serenity_ women knew that such a distraction would come in the form of the man who now stood at the bottom of the ramp with his lackies. Actually, when he came strolling into the cargo bay with his little swagger, it made sense to Zoe that he would show up.

They did have his merchandise after all.

"Oi—oi! What's all this then? Is there a problem with my stuff?"

"There is a problem with the people you have employed Badger." One of the guards walked up and towered above the smaller man in a threatening manner.

The Englishman frowned, grasped the lapels of his coat and gave the coat a shuck.

"It's _Mister_ Badger round these parts."

"Not so much when you're doin' business with criminals like these .They have bounty on their heads."

"Then take 'em away an' arrest 'em. Just leave my merchandise here and allow me and my men to take it back with us. Good coin has been spent on wot's in them boxes."

"It's evidence now, sir. When the rest of my squad comes to relieve us, all that's here will be taken into custody along with the crew."

"Oh really?" Badger rose his eye brows in mock surprise and grinned at Zoe. "So are you goin' t'be the one what tells the Mayor then? Are you goin' to explain to 'im and all his folk, that 'is fireworks for tonight's New Year's celebratory do, 'int gonna be there?"

"The Mayor and the other lords do not do business with you."

"Ah, but of course they do, when it suits those few who are desperate enough and especially when I'm the only one who can get them what they want. Besides, you let this slide….who's t'know huh?" Badger dug deep into his pocket and pulled out the wad of cash. "You need a little incentive or are you goin' to take my word for it, check them boxes and let me go 'bout my own?"

Zoe thought that for a moment both of those Feds would arrest them all for Badger's daring bribe. Then it was obvious how tempted those men were, as their eyes were fixated on the rather generous stack in his hand. Then one of them felt disgusted at the thought of taking money—which was odd for a fed—and turned to the crates. The other snatched the money from Badger's hand and he too approached the crates.

He found a crowbar nearby and opened the top off. They waded through the straw that packed the crates and sure enough there were some very high-end fireworks snuggled in amongst it. Then, just as predicted, the feds dove in deeper, just to make sure they weren't smuggling anything else.

Badger grinned and Zoe followed his lead. They approached the foolish guards who had, at last taken their eyes off their prisoners, and at the exact same time whacked a blow to the back of their heads to knock them out.

The bodies fell to the floor.

"Tossers," Badger clicked his fingers and stepped aside so his men could drag the guards away.

"Badger." Zoe addressed the little Englishman, waiting for an explanation as to why he had come here. The merchanise was a reason, sure…but there was something else.

"You have news as to what has happened to Mal and the others?" asked Inara. Badger bobbed his head and tipped his hat to the Companion.

"Course, miss. I'll help you get your boys back."

"You….you would help us, Badger?" Zoe asked suspiciously. "What's the catch?"

"I'm thinkin' the coin for this job be replaced with my aid to get your crew back together."

"Jayne won't like that." Said Kaylee.

"Too bad for that monkey." Badger shrugged his shoulders. "You know how I work. My bein' directly involved in this might—if it ain't already—arise some unsavoury questions as to my character. My business could suffer. But I'm doin' this because…well you lot do come through on your end a lot more than others. Since Miranda, I had my doubts…but you are the best."

"I bet that really hurt for you to admit that." Said Zoe, smiling.

"Immensely, but there's always opportunity to be had and I'm all for that. I'll tell ya who has your men, I'll even help ya. As long as it benefits mine. Right?"

"Agreed."

Zoe still had her suspicions about just what Badger would get out of this arrangement. But right now there wasn't anything else she could do. She had to get Mal, Simon and Jayne back. She had to get River back as well and as Badger stood opposite her, grinning in that smug way, Zoe couldn't help but think on what he knew about her whereabouts.

They had to play this safe. They had to find Mal and the others, quickly.

* * *

There was music.

It weren't even good music. It was the horrible sickening kind that he had heard in lifts. It was irritating and so damned corny that it was having an adverse effect on his nervous system.

Then there was a pleasant female voice speaking in Mandarin over some kind of tanoy.

"_Ni hao_. _We hope you have a pleasant stay here and that you will wish to return again soon. Our quality of service is considered the highest on Persephone…."_

This weren't no prison or detention area.

Jayne was wondering why he couldn't see…he couldn't remember even getting from the Operative's ship to here. He was sitting on a very comfortable couch, one that he could quite happily stay on for a bit longer; a man could fall asleep quite easily on this.

Something was ripped from his head and a bright blinding light stung in his eyes.

_"Cao di yu!_"

The words didn't sound from his mouth, though Jayne had wanted to yell that very same curse. The bright light was blinding almost as much as the blindfold had been, he had to blink a few times before he could finally figure out where he was.

It was a lobby. A circular lobby with white walls soared high above him like a funnel , with balconies and small drapes of blue and green dotted about. He was sitting on a white couch with Mal and Simon either side of him and directly in front of the three men was a desk, a white desk with a smiling young Asian woman in a light green dress, sitting behind it.

"Huh?" Mal and Simon looked just as puzzled as Jayne did. This was not what they had been expecting at all. Women in green were walking around, seemingly busy or in a rush to get somewhere and high above them, Jayne could make out more on other levels.

"_Ni hao."_ The lady behind the desk bowed gracefully and then came out from behind it. The dress didn't really cover much up. "It's good to see you gentlemen awake."

"Are we in a whorehouse?" asked Simon, whispering across Jayne to Mal. Both of the men shook their heads, even though they weren't entirely sure if that was the right answer. "Where are those operatives?"

Mal shrugged his shoulders.

"Where are we?" Jayne demanded, as the lady approached them.

"I will let my employer explain that." The woman smiled. "Follow me."

The woman began to walk off at a slow pace, mainly to allow the bewildered men come to some kind of sense before following. They rose from the sofa and were surprised to find their clothes had been taken and replaced with—what could only have been described as—blue hospital pyjama bottoms. Bare chested and bare footed the three men slowly followed.

"Are we in a whorehouse?" Simon asked the lady, trying not to look at Jayne and the injuries his sister had inflicted on him.

The lady giggled childishly. She shook her head and carried on leading them through white corridors. Jayne was getting pissed off, especially with the number of women who passed him and smiled patronizingly. None of this was making sense. Surely the operatives were around…where was the security? What was preventing them from making a move and getting out of here?

"I know what you're thinking, Jayne." Mal said as they began to walk up some winding stairs. "But now ain't the time. Just keep your eyes open."

"That's a damned given." Jayne sneered. The way all the other women…and even a few men in clothes similar to their own, were greeting them, was seriously creeping him out. He didn't like this place one bit, it was no whorehouse, and there was no sign of River.

"Who is your employer?" asked Simon, after ten more minutes of being lead through a maze of corridors. The woman didn't say anything. She opened one door and led them down a deserted wide corridor that strained the eyes through lack of any colour. At the far end, the huge burly figures of the Operatives were impossible to miss.

"Her ladyship's guests are ready for her now," Said the lady to Green eyes. The shorter operative smiled and bowed to the woman. Jayne caught the gaze of the other and sneered.

_"Xie xie."_ Green Eyes bowed and patiently waited for the woman to leave. As soon as the echo of the door slam reverberated and quietened, the Operatives somehow managed to surround the three firefly men, despite there being only two of them.

"So?" Mal glared at Green Eyes and ground his teeth angrily.

"You should be grateful. Her Ladyship isn't always so generous to her guests." Green eyes stepped back to the door behind him and rested his hand on the handle. "Especially VIPs such as yourselves."

The door opened and the corridor was flooded with a rippling blue glow, like waves. Green Eyes gestured for the three men to walk through and eventually, Mal did, followed by Simon. Jayne stood rooted to the spot, sticking out his chest and putting on his most sincere and very imposing pose. He really didn't like these two and he knew that if he couldn't beat the crap out of them, River certainly would.

"Mr Cobb."

If he said anything now, he would only get riled up even more. Jayne clenched his fists and walked into the room. The door closed behind him and the Operatives.

It was darker in here, but Mal, Simon and Jayne could make out the woman standing in the centre of the room sipping delicately at a champagne flute. Dressed in a long green cheongsam, embroided with a Chinese black dragon, was a middle aged female, with waist length black—but greying—hair. Her arms were bare, as were her feet, but there was something about the way her delicate features stared back at them, that unnerved all of them.

"Captain Reynolds, Simon Tam." The woman's exotic voice was deep and scratchy as it echoed coldly through the room. "I was not expecting you, but there's nothing I can do about your presence now. But Jayne…"

The woman walked directly up to Jayne, her dark eyes widened and her lips curled up into a much pleasured smile as she began to circle round him. Her free hand occasionally stroked across his back, arms and chest, admiring the many injuries he had. Jayne scowled.

"Stop touchin' me lady." He growled. She blatantly ignored him and teased a sole finger down the length of his arm. He jerked and his fist swiped the air before her face. The woman laughed.

"Oh my! She chose well. You are a fine specimen of man." The tip of her tongue poked from her mouth and ran lusciously over her lips with delight.

"Him?" Simon pointed a finger at Cobb with disbelief.

"Where's River? What have you done with her?" Jayne and Mal blurted out exactly the same sentence in perfect synchronization. They turned and grimaced at each other briefly before turning their anger back at the woman.

"She is perfectly safe. Though right now, I'm more interested in you, Jayne. Come…tell me more about yourself."

"Go fuck yerself." Jayne hissed.

"Who are you?" Simon added.

The woman sighed and drained the flute of champagne. She held it out to her side and it was instantly taken by Green Eyes. No one had seen him approach her side. With her hands free, the woman held out her arms and smirked.

There was no emotion portrayed in such a smile. She was cold and bare as this room was.

"I am Mei Xing, Headmistress of Parliament's Academy. Your sister, Doctor Tam, was my star pupil and now it seems she is enrolling once again. Under my own personal tutelage…as it always should have been."

The introduction was given as if it was something ordinary and plain. She spoke the words as if there would never be any kind of retaliation or reaction to it. Yet those dark black eyes sparked with expectation.

Jayne heard the word "Academy", so did Mal and Simon. All three of them instantly knew that this woman was one…if not _the _person responsible for what happened to River. Jayne couldn't account for what Mal and Simon were feeling right now, but he knew that they could not be feeling the rage swelling and boiling up inside as much as he. Jayne could see red as he continued to look at the woman, fury unlike he had felt before was consuming him and his body began to react instinctively.

Some vile cursive hate and spit spewed from his lips and he felt the skin in his palms break as his fingers dug deep.

_"You fuckin' bitch!" _

He rushed forward, with all intention of grabbing this woman and dealing out the pain that River had suffered, but instead there was a cracking blow to his face and a knee impacted with his stomach. As he fell down, there was another hard strike against his back and he collapsed completely. He rolled onto his back and saw Green Eyes standing above him, ready to strike him down again. Jayne didn't think that he would and when he tried to get up and retaliate he was beaten down. As he coughed and wheezed, he heard the sounds of another scuffle. It seemed that Mal had tried to do something as well, but there was a thud, the sound of his gasping, when he fell to the floor as well.

There was a third. Simon.

"I wouldn't try that again, gentlemen. So why don't you let me explain what is going to happen from here."

Jayne eventually sat up. His head was still reeling a little from the—_damned hard_—punch to his face, but the anger hadn't relinquished. Beside him Mal and Simon were recovering from the assault from the other Operative.

Mei Xing began to calmly pace around the room, making her silk dress swoosh against her legs. That sound only irritated Jayne further.

"You three have no idea what River is," Said Xing, her eyes fleeting onto Jayne. "None of you know what she has become or what _I_ have made her into. The doctors involved, the fool who thought she was his project, was far from the truth."

"You are responsible for brutalizing my sister?" yelled Simon, his voice cracking under the strain.

"You think in such a narrow way, Simon." Xing approached the doctor as he still coughed to get his breath back and with a little hitch of her dress crouched down next to him. "What do you think you know? That the Reavers were some accidental happenstance because of an experiment gone wrong? That your sister was experimented on to find a way to stop them?"

"So there's more secrets, huh? Are you gonna to tell us or gloat for a bit longer?" Mal spat.

"Such concern! River is so lucky to have three strong men looking out for her! Father, brother…." Xing stood and walked to Jayne. "Mate."

A thin hand reached out to Jayne stroked against his face, provoking him to react, to snap, but he didn't even make her flinch and got a blow to the back of his head again.

"Captain Reynolds. The events you and your crew went through on Miranda, led you to believe that Parliament created the Reavers through the Pax incident." Xing stroked again at Jayne's face, looking only at him. The Merc tried to get out of her hold but the sudden grasp in his hair and the feel of Green-eyes behind him, stopped him. Only just. Her nails scraped across his jaw. "It was the other way round, the Pax wasn't supposed to ease out aggressive behaviours. It should have made them all aggressive. The Academy's curriculum failed to produce what it set out to do and Mathias was an incompetent fool."

"You made the Reavers on purpose?" Simon cried. "Why? What kind of a person are you?"

"A twisted fuck is what!" Jayne harsh reply only got him a kick to his back. He fell flat on his face. He heard the other two get similar blows.

"You might think that, everyone else might do as well." Jayne was hauled up to his knees by Green-Eyes and made to look directly at the older woman. She was crazier than River ever could be. He knew it. "Right now, all that concerns me is that your offspring will be what they could not create in the labs."

"Then she really is…?" Mal couldn't finish his sentence.

"River is pregnant." Xing smiled and then clasped her hands together in joy. "Conception has been confirmed and you are the father, Jayne Cobb. So, you're going to be staying here with us. I'm going to see just what makes you…you."

Xing held out her hand towards the Merc and all she got back in response was a very threatening growl.

"You want to know me?"

Xing sighed.

"Your threatening tone doesn't perturb me in the slightest. You have no choice, Mr Cobb, I will not allow you to ruin decades of my life's work and to be honest I don't think River is going to let you either."

Jayne laughed. _Yeah right! _

He looked to Mal and Simon, both of them had the same expression as he did. River was the last person who would want to help this woman. In fact, if she were here, these Operative dicks wouldn't stand a chance and that Asian woman would be dead on the floor.

That assurance faded when the woman turned round and stood facing the far corner of the room. Jayne followed her gaze and all three men squinted into the black shadow where the blue lights couldn't reach. At first he didn't know what was so damned fascinating, but then the shadow moved. A figure uncurled from the floor and rose up onto her knees.

"R—River?" Simon spoke what Jayne could not, as she stepped out into the hues of blue, wearing the scraps of what remained of his t-shirt.

She ignored her brother completely and walked up to Jayne. One foot slowly balanced in front of the other—heel to toe—until she stood directly in front of the kneeling merc. Jayne's mouth could only open and close in confusion, his eyes strained with anger and sadness as his hand reached out to touch her.

Her fingers caressed his face. She stepped into him and pulled his cheek to rest against her stomach. As her hands stroked through his hair, Jayne's own hands rose hesitantly to cup at her bottom. His mouth brushed against the flesh not covered by the shirt.

"Moony…li'l crazy girl?" Her arms wrapped around his head. "If yer finished freakin' out, yer brother and Mal wantcha to go back to _Serenity_."

"And you?" She whispered lovingly into his ear.

"Do what you like. But ya can't stay here."

"I want to stay." River's voice was so cold, Jayne felt himself shiver. His hold on her tightened, he squeezed almost desperately. "The both of us have to stay for the full term."

Jayne didn't like it one bit. He wrenched his head away from her and looked up at her face. A sickening knot twisted inside him when he saw…River wasn't there. There was nothing behind those eyes, she was empty.

"No. You ain't stayin' here! You can't wanna!"

River's hand which had been lovingly stroking his hair, grabbed a fistful and yanked back his head, ripping several hairs from his scalp.

"Bad Jayne! We are not skipping school!"

"River! No!"

Even her brother's pleading cry of her name didn't stop her fist from crashed down straight into Jayne's face.


End file.
